Aglamesis Bros. is switching things up. The 115-year-old iconic Cincinnati company, known for its old-fashioned ice cream and gourmet chocolates, will rollout a rebrand this week – part of a push to capture its next generation of customers.

The refresh, which includes updated logo marks and packaging, were made in tandem with renovations at its flagship Oakley store. It comes as Aglamesis makes plans to expand. The family detailed some of those next steps in a December 2022 Business Courier cover story.

The company is investing $1 million in a manufacturing facility in West End, and there have been hints at new neighborhood stores. That hasn’t happened since Aglamesis added a second shop in Montgomery in 1970.

The goal is to preserve the features patrons have come to know while adding modern touches to engage a wider audience. The changes will be officially unveiled at the store Sept. 12.

"Our reimagined brand identity encapsulates the heart and soul of Aglamesis," Randy Young, the company’s president and third-generation owner, said in a release. “This rebranding is a tribute to our heritage, a celebration of our community and an invitation to new generations to savor the flavors that have stood the test of time."

East End-based agency Brandience, whose client roster includes Skyline Chili, Papa Johns and Biggby Coffee, worked with Aglamesis on the rebrand.

Brandience CEO Brian McHale told me the partnership started over a year ago.

“The company has ideas for how to grow, and they’re looking forward to the future,” he said. “The goal was to put a fresh look on what’s become a staple in the city.”

Here’s what you’ll see:

The logo

Aglamesis is swapping out its signature script for a new custom font. “We wanted it to be exclusively theirs,” Tim Hogan, vice president and executive creative director at Brandience, said.

This piece of the rebrand is somewhat unique, Hogan said. Most companies with long-standing logo marks don’t usually ask for a refresh. When that work is done, it usually includes just minor embellishments.

“This is a pretty drastic change,” Hogan said. “The font is clean. Aglamesis is hard to pronounce; most people seem to know it from memory, but new customers didn’t know how to read it. The family, when we showed them, said it still feels like them, and that was important.”

The brothers

Aglamesis was founded by Greek immigrant brothers Thomas and Nicholas Aglamesis in 1908. Brandience said it was important to keep the two attached to the brand. “There are not some made up characters. They were real people,” Hogan said.

The family did not have a good photo of the two together, so the firm created an illustration featuring them both. The image tops the new Aglamesis ice cream lids.

Bolder box

Aglamesis is gearing up to drastically increase its chocolate production with a new 7,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in the West End. It’s a key part of the business: Candy sales tend to spike big time over the holidays when corporations buy boxed sweets for staff and clients as gifts.

For years, the box holding those confections featured shiny gold paper with the company name in pink.

The new box keeps the signature color in stripes, but adds a swatch of black on the side with a repeating pattern of the new “A” from the logo.

Hogan said it has a black-tie feel.

“It’s high touch. We wanted to match the package to the quality of the content inside,” he said.

Brandience also reworked the brand story with a new tagline, “Live Life Sweetly.” It appears on the packaging and will be used in other marketing materials.

Aglamesis said it intentionally timed the rebranding to hit alongside the conclusion of some renovations at its flagship store. The space is still embellished with original exotic Tiffany lamps and sculptured ceilings from its opened in 1913.

Perry Contracting led the work. Exterior touchups have been made. A sign with the new logo will offer better visibility along Madison Road.

McHale said it will continue to look like an ice cream parlor “but with a contemporary flair from the outside.”

Inside, the product will remain unchanged. Young, in an interview last year, maintained the company will always honor its formulas, traditions and processes.

"Our commitment to crafting exquisite treats using time-honored techniques and original recipes remains unwavering,” he said at the time.

The changes simply allow Aglamesis to better meet demand.

“It is my responsibility to prepare this business for the next generation,” he told me. “We want to be a good neighbor. A place that provides new memories. When I see grandparents coming in now with their grandkids, when they lean down and say, ‘My grandmother brought me here,’ that’s what gets me out of bed in the morning.”